The best player for a smartphone on android. Detailed playback quality test of audio players for Android Neutron music player does not see the sd card

Description:

Audio player with professional sound quality. The player has an exclusive 32-bit, and now also a 64-bit software sound core (now there will be no 32/64 bit separation, this also applies to the standard version (with Google Play) and Neon). This is now activated in the player settings.), which helps to achieve the best sound transmission from your Android device to speakers or headphones. Designed for audiophiles, recommended for Hi-Fi/Hi-End audio devices.

The player is "omnivorous", supported audio codecs: MP1, MP2, MP3, OGG, WMA, AC3, AAC, M4A, M4B, M4R, MP4, 3GP, 3G2, MOV, FLAC, ALAC, APE, WV, TTA, MPC, WAV , AU, AIFF, MPG/MPEG, AVI
Supports work on tablets.

Peculiarities:
※ The player is omnivorous, supported audio codecs: MP1, MP2, MP3, OGG, WMA, AC3, AAC, M4A, M4B, M4R, MP4, 3GP, 3G2, MOV, FLAC, ALAC, APE, WV, TTA, MPC, WAV, AU, AIFF, MPG/MPEG, AVI
※ SD card installation is supported (Android OS 2.2 and above), widgets are not available when installing to the card.

Changelog:
v1.64.0
※ Support network stream metadata.
※ Ability to paste copied text from outside of Neutron UI for Streaming entry edits.
※ Gapless zero trimming mode for all non-gapless formats.
※ Improved album art handling.
※ Increase bits for module formats.
※ Fixed passive updating routine which might be causing incorrect CPU usage.
※ Fixed UI not refreshing properly causing lags and increased CPU usage.
※ Fixed track info not updated for widgets if not playing.
※ Fixed non-async buffer usage for NRT mode.

Notes:
- Below the minimum hardware specification - sufficiently fast performance is not guaranteed.
- On screens with resolutions lower than 480x800, graphics quality may be reduced due to automatic graphics scaling.

Neutron setup:
After the first launch, we ignore all suggestions and pop-up menus. Immediately press the button on the lower right touch button (under the screen)

The menu with settings (in English) leaves, scroll down to the line Interface Language. Click on it.
-In the menu, activate the Russian language, turn on the red light and immediately press the bottom right of the screen on the inscription Done
-Next, press the lower left touch key under the screen (return) ... We all have a Russian language.

A menu with the player has appeared. Click on the play button. The library is empty
-The menu "Select directory" leaves, the mnt folder is drawn below ... on the right, turn on the red light and ATTENTION !!!
Click "Done" below.
IN THE FUTURE, WHEN YOU CONFIGURE THE PARAMETERS, DO NOT FORGET TO CLICK ON "DONE" (this is stored in the player's settings memory)
-Scanning music...
-On the main screen of the player, above the large inscription NEUTRON, dashes (brackets) are visible on the sides to the left and to the right
-Put your finger on the bracket on the right side and move it to the left. The library has appeared, now click "back" in the lower left corner
-The "Playlists" menu appeared..."Artists"..."Albums"..."Genres", etc.
-To customize playlists, put your finger and hold on the "playlists" folder
-Do what is comfortable for you
Example. Click on the album, the songs go out, click on the right to play and then the left bracket (which above the NEUTRON you shift to the right ... The player is in front of you.
Let's get to the settings.
Click on the right touch screen below the screen ... Choose an equalizer
-We adjust all the strips, when finished, DO NOT FORGET TO CLICK ON "DONE" (reminded)
-Added Equalizer Presets menu
- We light "Albums" and "FOLDERS" and turn on the red light against preset # 1> click "done"
-Stereo effect --- turn on the surround sound (this is for speakers) --- done
-Crossfeeder ---- ignite (this is for headphones) --- done
- Surround sound --- ignite
-We don’t climb here yet, IN THE NEXT REVIEW I WILL DESCRIBE BY THE EXAMPLE OF MY SETTINGS, ALL THE EXACT SETTINGS according to the inscription-numbers scheme (otherwise you’ll break firewood) ... I’ll lay out HOW I put it.
-Then skip to
- Dithering --- press the red --- done
-Limiter --- let's skip it, I'll write it later too
-Resampling --- select the right one --- "Quickly" --- ignite ready
-Alignment---ignite Protection--ignite
-Preamplifiers-do not touch at all! Forget that they are! - click on kay
- Reset volume - do not light anything!
-User Interface---don't touch "Dynamic Wallpaper"
-Up to the item "full screen" --- at your discretion (hooligans as we want)
-Full screen..Auto-rotate----light
-Hide the panel after 5 seconds --- cut in (I explain the trick ... Then, so that the rewind buttons, pauses appear in the player itself, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and they will appear for 5 seconds) .. In short, convenient!
-Skobing---DO NOT TOUCH YET!!!
- Reverse timer ---- as you like (at your discretion)
-Audio equipment --- twist, twist, break away safely! Turn on HW volume and Audio Focus
- Headset / connector --- we light all five points.
-Lyric ---- I didn’t understand why it was needed (I would have thrown it away)
-Database---everything is clear at your discretion. I included all four.
-The last three points of the "FAQ"..."Forum"..."Technology" did not test (hands have not reached yet)

Year of issue: 2012
Developer: Neutron Code Limited
Off. website: http://neutronmp.com/
Platform: 2.1 +
Interface language: Russian
License: Hacked / Pirate
Installer type: apk
Size: 9.24 MB

2014-11-22T00:40

2014-11-22T00:40

Audiophile's Software

ATTENTION: as new information becomes available, the article is updated and supplemented (see the date of the last update).

Copyright Taras Kovrijenko 2014

Full or partial copying of the text is allowed only with the written permission of the author.

Introduction

Not so long ago, I developed a special technique for testing software audio players for Windows (more precisely, a technique for testing their sound engines). Now in the corresponding section you can find a detailed analysis of almost all popular players - from foobar2000 to iTunes and WMP.

As practice has already shown, in the Android OS there are various options for outputting sound, not to mention its processing by the players themselves. While we do not have sufficient knowledge in the field of Android device circuitry, and there is no information (in an accessible form) on the network about the device of the sound Android systems OS, because the device for us is something like a black box. We only have an input (input file) and an output (analog headphone output). By using different inputs (i.e. using files with different test signals), combining them with various settings Software/devices and analyzing the result at the output, we will be able to build hypotheses about the device and characteristics of various parts of the audio path.

Some features of Android OS

While preparing this test, I did make some inquiries regarding audio playback on Android. I also received answers to some of my questions from AIMP developer Artyom Izmailov.

So, first of all, each Android device has a “native” sampling rate and bit depth supported by hardware. It is with this data format that the DSP / DAC works, and only in this form can the device receive sound data from applications. As a rule, this is 16 bits, 44.1 or 48 kHz (in my case 44.1). You can determine the hardware frequency for the device using the Audio Buffer Size program.

Secondly, there are two output methods in the system: using the AudioTrack class and using the OpenSL interface. Moreover, in the first case, variants with native code and managed code are possible ( virtual machine Java).

How these features will manifest themselves in practice - the test will show.

What features are we testing?

The purpose of this test is to investigate the playback quality of the most popular players for Android, and also, if possible, to form at least an approximate idea of ​​​​the device of the Android OS sound subsystem.

Thus, I will only touch on aspects of sound, in isolation from usability and other points. But here it is also necessary to decide What exactly we will investigate in terms of sound reproduction. In order for the test to be complete, it is necessary to test all the elements of the audio path that can be used in certain cases:

1. Decoder- testing using uncompressed PCM formats 16 and 24 bits, lossless compressed FLAC formats, Monkey's Audio (APE), WavPack, TAK, Apple Lossless (ALAC) and lossy MP3, AAC, OGG Vorbis, Opus, Musepack (MPC) formats. The listed formats were chosen due to their popularity and / or effectiveness.
2. Testing useful processors- ReplayGain, preamp, limiter, volume control. These handlers are needed to control the volume level and therefore may be needed for both scaling and signal compression (in noisy rooms). It is also possible (but not required) to test the EQ and some other processing functions.
3. Testing resamplers and bit depth converters included in the audio path. To do this, signals with different bit depth and sampling frequency will be fed to the input. In this case, theoretically, depending on the settings, either handlers built into the player, or Android services or device hardware handlers can be used.

Test Signals

• Pure tone 1 kHz with 0 and –6 dBFS (16 bit 44.1 kHz) - checks the maximum output level and compressors;
• 60 Hz tone modulated at 1 Hz with filtering of higher harmonic derivatives;
• previous signal encoded in lossy formats with a level of +6 dBFS - to test floating point decoding and functions that operate on the volume level: ReplayGain, preamplifier, limiter, volume control;
• standard files with a set of RMAA test signals (combinations of bit depth 16, 24 bits and sampling rates 44.1–96 kHz) in all studied formats (PCM, lossless, lossy);
• music files in various formats.

Hardware and software

The test uses mobile lenovo phone A516 under Android control 4.2.2, with fully updated system software.

Taking into account the wishes of the site users (in the comments to the test announcement), as well as based on a personal assessment of the quality factor, functionality and popularity, I chose the following eight players for the test:

Poweramp 2.0.9
Neutron Music Player 1.79.1
AIMP 0.9 RC2 (beta)
DeadDBeeF 1.21
jetAudio Plus 4.4.0
VLC 0.9.10 (beta)
PlayerPro 2.91 + DSP Pack
GoneMAD Music Player 1.6.6

An ASUS Xonar Essence STX sound card was used to record the signal from the output of the device (signal/noise for the line input is 118 dB).

During the test, I used RightMark Audio Analyzer and .

Testing methodology (algorithm)

1. Pre-installation of tested players and copying test samples to the device's memory.
2. Restarting the device, clearing the RAM from unnecessary processes.
3. Launch of the first tested player (default settings).
4. Evaluation of the output loudness level (sine wave 1 kHz –0 dBFS) at the maximum position of the regulator, visual analysis of distortions using a spectrum analyzer.
5. Checking support for various audio formats.
6. Floating point decode check (over sampled).
7. Familiarization with audio output settings, handlers, etc. Analysis of their quality using test samples.
8. Setting the optimal sound output settings, testing RMAA.
9. Clearing the RAM and repeating steps 3–8 for the rest of the tested players.
10. Carrying out additional tests (resampling, bit depth conversion, MP3 and AAC decoding).

At the end of the test, I will present a summary table of results for all eight players.

Device preparation

For correct measurements of the volume level, we will set the highest volume for the maximum position of the regulator in the MTK engineering menu, as well as the highest gain level at which clipping does not occur (according to the results of preliminary tests). To do this, go to the Hardware->Audio->Headset mode section and set the desired value Max Vol., and Media/Level 6/Value is...:

Testing

poweramp

The output level for a 1 kHz sine was –10.5 dB, there is no clipping.

It should be noted that the function is enabled by default in the player settings. direct volume control (DVC). When it was turned off, the signal level dropped by 4 dB (down to -14.5). As it turned out, lowering the volume is performed by the tone control, which is also enabled by default. Turning it off increased the volume by exactly 7 dB to -7.5, which is three dB higher than the volume with DVC on.

In the future, we will take the volume level provided by Poweramp - -7.5 dB - as the nominal one (the maximum possible for the device).

Studies of the DVC function led to very interesting conclusions. This function(DVC) disables the device driver's volume control, after which it begins to independently control the volume level value. So, on HTC, enabling this function gives a volume increase of as much as 6 dB. It turned out that the driver deliberately lowers the maximum volume, making that 6dB headroom only available to BeatsAudio's EQ (that's the whole ridiculousness of the BeatsAudio feature - it's basically a checkbox EQ + unlocking the entire volume range). By the way, for devices with BeatsAudio in Poweramp there is a special option to disable this feature.

On the Lenovo A516, the situation is somewhat different. In the process of preparing the device (previous paragraph), we increased the volume level for the extreme position of the regulator from 240 to 255. As I said, this is the value that Poweramp controls directly in DVC mode. However, for some unknown reason, the player could not reach maximum value at 255 points, at the extreme right position of the slider it corresponded to 244, and therefore the player gave a volume 3 dB lower in DVC mode than when this function was turned off and the value was manually set to 255. At the initial value of 240 points, the player did increase the volume at turning on DVC, and without turning on this function, RMAA showed a rather peculiar signal distortion:

At first I took it for a slight clipping, but then I realized that during cuts, only multiple frequency components (higher harmonics) appear, and in this case, distortion also appears at a signal level of –60 dBFS. Then I remembered that such a characteristic "skirt" around a pure tone is inherent in the effect of jitter.

Why jitter occurs in the system is a mystery. By the way, even in preliminary tests, I noted the instability of RMAA readings, especially in those cases when third party programs- in such cases, the jitter increased.

Thus, when adjusting the volume control value manually, the DVC function is no longer needed. However, when it is turned off, a rather interesting situation is observed in the player itself: the preamp control starts working only to reduce the level, and only when the tone control and / or equalizer is on. The default preamp value (middle position) becomes -6dB.

Now let's move on to more detailed testing of the decoding and processing functions. Unfortunately, the test showed that the player performs lossy decoding in a fixed-point format, therefore, if the files exceed the maximum level, clipping cannot be avoided either with ReplayGain, or with a preamp or limiter.

The preamp slider in the settings adjusts the volume level in the range of ±6 dB for DVC: on and from 0 to -12 dB when DVC is off. The tone controls allow you to raise the volume of the bass (5 kHz) by about 6 dB:

Tone controls at maximum position

The equalizer has 10 bands (from 31 Hz to 16 kHz), with an adjustment range of ±10 dB.

1kHz slider set to minimum (-10dB)

As you can see, bell-type equalization is used (“bell-shaped”, there is also “shelf”), the quality factor of the filter is two (the bandwidth at a filtering frequency of 1 kHz is 0.5 kHz).

As already mentioned, the player has extended support for ReplayGain (source selection, gain for tracks with/without RG tags, clipping prevention).

The limiter test showed that it does not quite cope with clipping, although it reduces it somewhat. Thus, I would not recommend using a limiter in this player.

Summing up, I will say that the overall impression of the player is positive. The main feature of the player is the presence of a direct volume control function, which, however, will not be useful on all devices. Provided that there is no clipping in the source files, the player provides excellent playback quality.

Neutron

Perhaps the most "fancy" player in terms of the number of processing and sound output parameters. We will now check what advantages these parameters will give us.

First of all, this player immediately pleased with the presence of support for progressive Opus and TAK formats (which are not supported by Poweramp).

NeutronMP has ReplayGain enabled by default, as well as auto volume control. Decoding lossy to floating point format was immediately discovered - the player detected clipping for a second and automatically lowered the volume.

At default settings, the player gave an output level of -7.6 dBFS - 0.1 dB below the maximum (as it turned out, the auto volume control worked).

Wandering through the settings, I found a lot at a glance interesting features. So, for example, the resampling option has two modes: Quality And audiophilia. However, it is interesting that even in audiophile mode, ultrasound is reflected into the audible area (although reflections are suppressed to some extent); in quality mode, multiple reflections occur in the audible area (with non-multiple resampling) - fixed in version 1.79. It is also interesting that the low-pass limiter is for some reason called "Low-pass filter", although it is the opposite of a high-pass filter.

In the output settings, you can see the current processing bit depth (default 32 bits) and output (on Android it is only 16 bits), as well as the sample rate and output method. The player supports output via OpenSL and JNI, however, this did not affect the objective characteristics of the path in any way (the RMAA results coincide up to a random error). It is also not clear why there is a possibility of 64-bit processing. Such a huge bit depth makes sense only for studio mastering, when dozens of filters are applied to the recording (because the rounding error accumulates with each processing). The same applies to dethering, which generally only makes sense for devices with a dynamic range of >96 dB.

Of the useful functions, the already mentioned auto volume control can be noted. By the way, in the same place, in the equipment settings, there is an option to control the hardware volume. When this option is disabled, the player has its own volume control, located at the very end of the DSP chain (before the conversion to a fixed point) and allows you to both lower and increase the volume. That is, the hardware volume control function is not an analogue of DVC, but simply switching to control exclusively the overall volume of the system.

As for the equalizer, it is parametric here: two shelving filters (low and high) with frequency and slope, and two bell-type filters with frequency and quality factor. Of course, the approach to implementing an equalizer for such software is non-standard, but I still doubt the convenience of such a solution for the end user.

Let me summarize. Of the advantages of the player, it should be noted support for floating point decoding, support for TAK and Opus formats, as well as auto-correction of volume. Of the minuses - not a very convenient equalizer and a lot of options with dubious usefulness, piled up on one page of settings.

jetAudio

Also a very interesting example. Perhaps the leader in the number of patented sound enhancement technologies, which we will now understand.

With the default settings, the signal level was -17.3 dB, i.e. 9.8 dB below the nominal. Turning off the AKG boosted the volume by 7.8dB to -9.5dB, which seems to be the maximum for jetAudio (because turning off the remaining EQ didn't change the level).

dynamic range

The results of measurements for jetAudio are not encouraging: there is the same jitter that was in other players before the volume control value was corrected.

Interestingly, additional tests showed that with an increase in Max. Vol. V engineering menu by one step (from 120 to 121) jetAudio gave the nominal volume level and the absence of any additional distortion. However, at the same time, all other players began to work with clipping.

Now let's get acquainted with the handlers of this player.

jetAudio has a pretty good 10-/20-band equalizer with a range of ±10 dB, which is also a set of bell filters (and extreme shelving) with a quality factor of 2. The player has a record number of sound effects, divided into three groups: jetAudio Sound Effects, AM3D Sound Amplifier, Bongiovi DPS.

The first group contains the bass boost, stereo widening, reverb, pitch and automatic gain control (AGC) effects. The last function is nothing but a compressor - Not limiter. Even at its maximum position, this processor reduces the volume of a pure 0 dBFS tone by 4 dB, while also boosting quieter sounds.

X-Bass - an effect that is a banal bass boost. It has three versions, here is an example of their work at the position of the regulator at 50%:

By the way, the third version is enabled by a special checkbox in the settings, with a warning about possible "brakes", and, apparently, it is a higher-order filter (in fact, the rejection of the lowest frequencies is enabled there).

The AM3D group contains the effects of bass boost, treble boost, stereo expansion and volume boost. An example of how Z-Bass + Z-Treble 50% works:

The peak of bass boost is at 20 Hz, which is quite strange.

Z-Boost and Z-Surround are a conventional maximizer (a compressor aimed at increasing the volume) and a stereo expander without the possibility of adjustment (in the JetAudio Sound Effects, the degree of expansion of the stereo panorama is adjustable).

But the most interesting thing is, of course, Bongiovi DPS. As far as I understand, the idea of ​​​​the technology is to adjust the frequency response of the headphones used by turning on the appropriate preset. However, in the description of the technology, of course, it talks about graduates and the unsurpassed playback quality provided by the technology developed by them, which implements the analysis (!) And processing of the recording in real time. Well, let's check what is true and what is not.

Here are the frequency response graphs for the Sony Senheiser HD280 Pro preset, taken using the frequency dialing and floating sine method:

And here is the frequency response graph of the headphones themselves from Personalaudio.ru:

What conclusions can be drawn? Firstly, there is no smell of real-time audio analysis here, this is the most common equalization by convolution using a given impulse response. Secondly, there is also no smell of fine frequency response correction here. This is the usual rise of lows and highs with peaks at certain points (the graphs of other presets are very similar in shape and differ only in the location of the peaks). So it seems that the "experts" really tuned by hand, by ear (as indicated in the description of the technology), while not caring too much about equalizing the frequency response.

As for decoding and floating point, the player decodes lossy into fixed point format, so clipping cannot be avoided. All sound effects, except for preamp and the actual jetAudio Sound Effects, are in the chain after AGC (including the equalizer), and therefore it is also impossible to automatically eliminate the clipping that has arisen in them.

My verdict: visually attractive, but as far as the sound path is concerned, a rather illiterately built player. I do not recommend for use.

AIMP

This is the simplest audio player built on the basis of the BASS libraries. Supports MPC and Opus formats.

The default volume level was -7.5 dB, i.e. similar to Poweramp without DVC; the RMAA readings also matched.

Of the effects, there is only an 8-band equalizer with the limiter turned on and, for some reason, the preamp following it. Lossy decoding is done in fixed point format.

Of the oddities - the player hangs when trying to play Monkey's Audio Insane.

Verdict: the most common player with rather poor functionality.

VLC

Also a pretty simple audio/video player.

Volume level and RMAA results are similar to Poweramp DVC:off. VLC has three audio output modes: AudioTrack (Java), AudioTrack (native code), OpenSL ES. After choosing the second method, the player hung up at the start of playback, while the other two methods gave a completely identical stream.

The decoding is done with a fixed point. There is a 10-band equalizer.

In general, the player showed rather unstable operation and also hung when playing APE Insane. Verdict: the product is rather raw, and generally looks rather poor so far. Of the pluses, one can note only support for Opus.

DeadBeef

An unremarkable player, chosen by me only at your request.

The signal level and RMAA readings are standard, the decoding is done with a fixed point, there is a simple 10-band equalizer with Preamp and no limiter. There is support for APE Insane and MPC. Supports ReplayGain (no gain adjustment).

PlayerPro + DSP Pack

Pretty functional player with a nice interface.

Signal level and RMAA readings are standard, fixed-point decoding. Most processing features are available only after installing and activating the DSP Pack. The full version includes a 10-band EQ with limiter and preamp, bass boost control, stereo expansion control.

also in full version there is extended support for ReplayGain (with fine tuning).

The player left a positive impression.

GoneMAD

Powerful, paid player with support for Opus and Musepack formats. Volume and RMAA readings are standard.

The decoding is done with a fixed point. The player has the ability to use both the built-in and its own customizable 10-band equalizer; has a customizable built-in limiter, which is after the equalizer, but before bass amplifier and virtualizer (they may experience overload).

There is basic support for ReplayGain.

The overall assessment is positive.

Additional testing

Additionally, I did some research on how players handle frequencies other than 44.1kHz, as well as 24-bit bits. I also compared the work of MP3 and AAC decoders, or rather, the streams at their output.

The results showed that all players successfully decode high-res encoded in FLAC. Bit depth reduction is performed by discarding the least significant bits (except for Neutron; however, due to the limited dynamic range, it was not possible to evaluate the deserring). Resampling situation: High quality downsampling performed by Neutron, Poweramp and GoneMAD; Neutron (in adhiophile mode), AIMP and DeaDBeeF provide acceptable aliasing suppression, while jetAudio, VLC and PlayerPro do not use anti-aliasing filters at all.

With regards to MP3 and AAC decoding: all players showed identical results, only jetAudio excelled, which had minor, but rather strange intermodulation distortion on MP3 from somewhere:

Results

Android sound subsystem

First of all, conclusions should be drawn on the Android system as a whole. First, the various output methods do not affect the contents of the audio stream in any way. Secondly, the situation with volume control turned out to be very interesting. In most cases, when the volume turned out to be below the nominal, distortions appeared on the graphs, very similar to jitter. This is where the differences between players like Poweramp and jetAudio show up, setting the output volume differently.

However, it should be noted that everything related to volume may be related to the characteristics of this particular device, while on other phones these players may well play without introducing any additional distortion.

Comparison of players

As promised, here is a summary table of results:

And here is a table with data from the Google Play store:

Thus, Neutron gets gold from us. It has all the features you need for high-quality audio playback: floating point decoding, auto volume correction; and also supports all current formats (including the most high-tech TAK and Opus). But, in fairness, some shortcomings of this player should be noted: a parametric equalizer that is not very convenient, the lack of the possibility of maximizing the volume using ReplayGain (there is no setting to prevent clipping), as well as a lot of settings, the benefits of which are very doubtful.

Second place goes to Poweramp. The player has a rather well-thought-out sound path, high-quality processors, and an excellent resampler. Of the minuses, it is worth noting the lack of floating point decoding and Opus support. Also, a distinctive feature of this player - the DVC function - is far from always useful, and when it is turned off, the ability to increase the volume using the preamp disappears.

The third place was shared by the players GoneMAD and PlayerPro, which can be recommended for high-quality music playback.

The outsiders of the test were a rather strange jetAudio player and an extremely unstable VLC.

The Android Quality Sound Formula

And now directly to practice. How to get the best sound quality on Android?- you ask. The answer will be:

1. Adjust the gain level in the engineering menu, setting the maximum possible level at which clipping does not occur, and remove all processors like Beats Audio from the system.

• Android application jetAudio Music Player Plus, version: 5.3.1, price: 199 rubles.
• Android app n7player, version: 2.4.7, price: 239.99 rubles.
• Android application Neutron Music Player, version: 1.81.2, price: 373 rubles.
• Android application PlayerPro Music Player, version: 3.08, price: 195 rubles.
• Android application Poweramp, version: 2.0.10-575, price: 79 rubles.
• AIMP Android App, Version: 1.01, Price: Free.
• Android application NRGplayer, version: 1.1.9, price: free.
• Dream Player Android app, version: 2.3.38, price: free.

A long time ago, back in 2001, I faced a tough choice, which is better: Winamp or jetAudio... And how to set up the equalizer... And where to download the presets... And it's all on the built-in sound card and plastic Genius speakers, received as a change from a keyboard and mouse... In the battle, unexpectedly, AIMP won, on which the SoftRock equalizer setting had been set for a long 10 years. And then something happened - normal speakers appeared in my life, not Hi-End far, but simple wooden SVEN for 2-3 thousand rubles, after that the player's equalizer was turned off, and the entire sound setting was regulated by three controls: bass, timbre, volume. That's all, what I mean - the topic of this review review will also be sound, more precisely - a comparison and choice (subjective, of course) of a player for Android.

New century - new challenges, and, one of the main ones, constant aggressive false advertising, which is called marketing. She also touched the players that offer: "innovative interface", "professional sound quality", "a huge number of possibilities". Considering the selected applications, let's consider, do we really need all these innovations, and is the sound quality really professional?

So let's meet:

jetAudio Music Player Plus, price - 199.0 rubles, the authors describe it like this: "And finally, the hour has come when you can listen to music in amazing quality on your Android phone thanks to the jetAudio app". Well, let's check...

n7player, price - 239.99 rubles, characteristics from the manufacturer: "n7player app is one of the most innovative music players for android". So immodest, right?

Neutron Music Player, price - 373.03 rubles, the developers believe that "Neutron is designed for music lovers and those who are truly in love with music. Try to use with Hi-Fi/Hi-End audio equipment for best results". I wonder if they assumed that Sony ZL with a stock headset would act as Hi-End equipment ... In principle, I can offer Lenovo S580 for $ 100 as Hi-Fi audio ...

PlayerPro Music Player, price - 195.00 rubles, after a very, very large number of smart words of praise, we see: "...and many other features!". Let's try to find them...

poweramp(well, where without it ?!), price - 79.00 rubles, "Poweramp is a powerful audio player for Android"- against the background of others, more than a modest characteristic ...

AIMP(just because it's a favorite on PC), the price is free, the description is also about nothing: "AIMP for android is easy mobile version audio player for android platform".

NRGplayer, price - free (advertising), "NRGPlayer is a beautiful free music player for Android with 10-band equalizer, folder (directory) management and customizable interface"- in short - "another player for Android with standard features."

Dream Player, price - free (advertising). Long description like this: "Free audio player with Cyrillic support, tag editor, cover search, lyrics search, automatic saving of pauses for all files, scrobbling, Yandex.Disk support, sleep timer, Internet radio, dark and light theme and much more". By the way, every word is true...

The review did not include the most, in my opinion, the most beautiful player - TTPod, due to the lack of a sane version on Google Play and the need to search for it on the Web, and I also ignored all branded players (their installation, as a rule, requires root rights or extended recovery), Yandex and Google music (after all, their purpose is more - music in the cloud, although Yandex is quite convenient for offline) and MusiXmatch (although, perhaps, undeservedly).

Equipment:

The music player on the phone is an integral part of the life of every person who has an Android smartphone. The most popular music player is probably iTunes, and we're starting to see a variety of subscription services, and then there's Spotify, so people can pretty much rent whatever music they want. The only problem is subscription services, and for that you need the Internet to use them and your money. It is also worth noting that iTunes does not have the ability to listen to music in high quality, such as Android players applications for listening to music in the kit: .

When testing / listening, external DACs were used:

An even shorter wire was also used to connect to a smartphone (Androyd) via OTG - USB.

The length of the wire is 31 cm. The price is 350 rubles.

The shorter the length of the OTG - USB wire - the better!

Important! When connecting the DAC + smartphone for the first time, wait 1-2 minutes for the DAC to install its drivers automatically. And then turn on the software. Description of the connection.

We have selected the best music players in our opinion, and now it's time to compare these applications against each other.

The length of the former OTG - USB wire is 60 cm.

PlayerPro vs neutron music player vs Poweramp vs Onkyo HF Player

I hope this review will help you understand exactly which music player for android is best for you.

Each of these music players offer a free trial to get used to the Android player and see if you want to buy it or not. I believe that no one should pay for these apps as long as you test them. It's good to start your research, but they all offer different features and features, so I'd recommend giving it a try and don't buy the paid versions until you find one that works for you.

Poweramp is a good player, but messy

The interface of the Poweramp player is good for working with music playback. You can quickly skip to the next track, pause and fast forward without any problem. I work it out, the shuffle buttons are right on the home screen so you don't have to go looking for them somewhere. This interface also includes the track name and various information at the very bottom of the screen.

Poweramp also has a strong support team, with a beautiful website and countless cover options, there are also " call or email support if you have any questions". You can go to their forum and chat with other users who have the same problems as you. Based on the site, their standard support team is not the best, so use the forum for your full .

Poweramp is perfect for categorizing your songs. After I dropped a few songs on my phone and tablet, it took me just a few seconds to find my music and translate it into the proper genres and artist categories. You'll also notice that playlists are easy to create, and you can always see playlists in the settings tab on the main track screen. You can always songs.

Mobile poweramp player also includes a queue option where it's easy to place a bunch of songs in order to make your selection.

Minuses

The main reason why Poweramp is not for audiophiles is that the sound is not clear, there are many enhancers and other “features” and they affect the sound. The initial interface is great, but once you start looking at/changing settings and blending options, it's all over.

The Poweramp has buttons and knobs for adjusting bass and tone. The only problem is that the average user never touches it. They could even play with them, but in the end it has no sound quality. But it is better to leave these functions in place, or disable them altogether.

The second problem is the presentation of the songs. I tried to import ten songs and one of them was with album art. But this player did not see my covers. Every time, I only see the boring Poweramp logo. Poweramp fails in this regard.

pros

Poweramp is the right music player for those who want to carry around their music collection but are not particularly inclined towards high sound quality. If you plan to store your collection in the cloud, then you can choose another solution. Poweramp is great, but you don't always see the album art. I still don't. The app is also great for people who want to fiddle with the equalizer and a bunch of all sorts of many other modifications to the possible settings, but because of this, the sound is very distorted.

PlayerPro - the best player for a smartphone on Android

Playepro is the most intuitive music player for the average user. It pulls all the content on your phone and immediately categorizes it so you don't have to worry. Player pro also offers video support.

"Neutron" neutron - the best Android player for your smartphone!

pros

Neutron is a music player that provides lossless file playback for those who are interested in the ideal listening environment, which is exactly what it is made for! He sees our external DACs without any problems, he described the connection, etc.

Unfortunately, this playback depends on your hardware! And it pleases! You get powerful functions to set the time, clock and output methods, etc. Equalizer settings are easily accessible for those who want to find their ideal sound. The Neutron player is nice for those who like to fiddle around with very large settings.

You won't get video support, but the Neutron app supports any file type for songs and audio clips. You can make the song move to the queue, or you can build a playlist for your upcoming trip. You can also scan devices at any time using the quick scan button located in the top right corner. Neutron backgrounds are also supported, so you can jump into your phone and do whatever you want while listening to your favorites.

I did not notice any disadvantages of the Neutron player.

Neutron - Neutron is my favorite music player for Android, but it offers a lot of options for those who are interested in a powerful audiophile player. All of Neutron's features and functions are just great.

And by the way, I completely forgot that in order to use it 100% you need a powerful smartphone: at least 4 cores and 1GB of RAM, and preferably 8 cores and 2-3GB of “RAM”. The Neutron player includes two large arrow buttons that are obviously meant to help people navigate quickly from one page to the next. Sound-wise, it's very good.

The fact is that not all software audio players are useful for linking an external DAC and a smartphone, some with better functionality do not always see an external DAC as a source in Android OS, even in the newest 5.0. or 5.1.

However, the situation is not so hopeless. The DAC + smartphone experiments would take a long time, but

a case helped, namely an audiophile friend who advised the Onkyo HF Player. Thanks to my sound friend Alexander helped out of place with this.

A little about Onkyo HF Player for android.

This is a software player for the iPhone from a major Hi-Fi manufacturer that can play flac and high-end .

Onkyo seized the opportunity of FLAC and other HD resolutions, seduced developers and offered alternative player, which even plays DSD files!

Shell Onkyo HF Player consists of 2 parts. I'll cover a free basic one. The design is similar to the regular iOS audio player, even the playlist is similar.

By the way, Onkyo has a multi-band equalizer from 32 Hz to 32 kHz with many presets, prepared by well-known and not so guitarists. Equalizer operation can be fine HD mode and normal SD mode.

There is even an adjustment of the Onkyo HF Player for branded models:

• Onkyo ES-HF300/CTI300,
• Onkyo ES-FC300,
• Onkyo IE-HF300/CTI-300
• Onkyo IE-FC300.

By the way, Onkyo's iOS player retains 2 important ones.

Tracks on the Onkyo HF Player will play with a micro pause. By the way, you can turn on the crossfader in the Onkyo HF Player settings.

The second moment is better, but not so critical for your ears - the presence in the HF Player of displaying the text of the song sewn into the file.

The second part of the Onkyo HF Player is called HD and is available as a $10 patch, but I can't say anything about it, so I didn't buy or test it. If Onkyo kindly provide for site tests , then I will tell you all the details.

I immediately liked the design and control of this software player Onkyo HF Player for Android, a sort of real Hi-Fi player - nothing more, silver
with black, although the control is an amateur, but I also liked it, after 2-3 minutes.

Conclusion

Portable tube amplifier for headphones "Svarog"

I hope you are starting to see why each of these apps are market leaders in music player apps for Android.

PlayerPro is the best option for those who want a beautiful interface and acceptable playback. All players for android are very good when it comes to playing music and finding your favorite tracks. PlayerPro gives you the added benefit of playing videos.

Poweramp is filled with modern features that make it too chaotic. However, I would guess that most ordinary people would choose .

The Onkyo HF Player is good for listening, but has fewer settings like Neutron and PlayerPro, but in terms of sound quality it's still .

Neutron Neutron is very similar to a power amplifier, and looks like a non-standard music player. I personally think that the interface for someone is less attractive in neutron, I personally liked it, but this Neutron is the best smartphone player for . And the sound is more neutral.

Hope this review helps you.

open word document, point to any link and press CTRL + left button mouse - the link will open in the browser, go and download, all files are checked - there are no viruses!

Neutron Music Player is a rapidly growing music player for operating system Android, which is distinguished among others by very high sound quality, as well as the possibility of fine tuning. For these purposes, the player even has a convenient built-in equalizer with support for the preview function. Moreover, this player allows you to apply all sorts of sound effects to the compositions, which will make the sound very clear and unique in the truest sense of the word. It is thanks to all of the above that Neutron Music Player has gained immense popularity.

But, in addition to providing High Quality sound and the ability to fine-tune it, the program can also be praised for the convenient built-in tools for cataloging music and breaking tracks into genres, artists and albums. The first time you launch Neutron Music Player, the application will automatically scan your portable device memory and SD card, finding all music files. Another useful feature of the player is the ability to set a timer to turn off the program. With all this, the application is completely free and compatible with older versions of Android.